NO MORE SCHOOL CLOSURES OR SALES OFOUR PRICELESS NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOLS

Our family, living in the Rattlesnake Valley, suffered an injustice in 2004.  Just as our third child was planning to attend Rattlesnake Middle School, as did his siblings in past years, in addition to finally being able to walk just a couple of blocks to this school, MCPS TRUSTEES PULLED THE RUG OUT FROM UNDER US!

This school closure scheme was foisted on Rattlesnake families on February 5, 2004.  Just 48 days later, including the weekends  which makes it even a shorter time span, on the evening and early morning hours of March 24th and the 25th of 2004, the MCPS school board voted (4-3) to close not only Rattlesnake Middle School, but also Prescott School, a school which had been closed and reopened a couple of times, and Mount Jumbo School in East Missoula.

Northeast Missoula families' hearts were broken into a million pieces.

As a family that has experienced a school closure and the threat of school closures, which can be almost as stressful to a family, msw (missoula schools watchdog) is warning both trustees, administrators, and citizens of Missoula, a school closure is NOT the answer to a school district's financial, social, educational, neighborhood, facility maintenance issues, enrollment issues, or any other problem or excuses that trustees will use to close or sell a school.

The 2004 school closures have cost the district millions of dollars over the last 8 years. In future posts msw will attempt to outline some of these costs. 

The ongoing closure costs will NEVER be brought up by Trustees, as they were the cause of them. These costs will NEVER be paid by the people that caused the district the financial problems to the district. In other words, Trustees will NEVER be held accountable for the negative results stemming from their votes to close a school. 

Have you ever heard of a trustee being charged for a modular that was built as a result of his/her shortsighted decisions? NO!

Please, Missoulians, FIGHT to keep our priceless neighborhood schools.  Say NO to any more school closures. Say NO to any more school sales. Say NO to building new schools at this time.  Say NO to favoritism for private schools.

Say YES to our neighborhood schools. Say YES to re-opening our closed schools.  Vote for trustees that will value our neighborhood schools.  Not the Trustees that are in power at this time.